Haaland the Most Dangerous Striker

ARLINGTON: Norway head coach Stale Solbakken has described Erling Haaland as the most dangerous and best striker in the world after he scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast in a World Cup 2026 knockout match at Dallas Stadium, yesterday.

The victory saw Norway make history of their own as they advanced to the Round of 16 of the World Cup to face Brazil, while maintaining Haaland’s impressive record of having scored five goals in three matches.

Solbakken in his reaction after the match stressed that Haaland is not only the best striker in the world, but is also the most valuable asset in the Norwegian team at the moment.

“There is absolutely no doubt about that. Today he wasn’t heavily involved in the game. I think he only had one big chance in the first half, but once again he scored the winning goal.

“Scoring five goals in three World Cup matches for a small country like Norway, I wouldn’t trade him for any other player because he is the best goalscorer in world football at the moment.

“It’s amazing to have him in the team. We are lucky to have him and our job is just to create as many chances as possible for him,” he said.

In a highly dramatic match, Haaland, who was relatively quiet throughout the game, emerged at the most crucial moment when he converted a chance in the 86th minute to gift Norway a historic victory.

Norway had taken the lead through Antonio Nusa in the first half, before Ivory Coast fought back to level the score through Amad Diallo in the 74th minute.

Utusan Malaysia